A couple of FOX's big shows, mainly Bones and Fringe, have outstayed their welcome really, but Bones is at least trying to provide some more entertainment for its fans, sort of. Billed to some extent as a spin-off, despite having no justifiable claim to the idea, The Finder may nevertheless turn into a hit based on some theory we might connect to the general idea of spin-offs. Generally … [Read more...]
I Hate My Teenage Daughter is a curious, but largely understandable, result of the trend in reality television and the absorption of that trend into the collective psyche. This is actually true of another new show this season, Suburgatory, and the two shows are largely cut from the same cloth. Those who are not overly familiar with reality television as viewers, but only insofar as they are … [Read more...]
The season is kicking off well for FOX, even if I'm questioning the decision to keep Fringe going... that's just me, I'm sure. I'm loving New Girl, and the new season of Raising Hope has been keeping that show going in solid fashion (notice how they changed the opening credits like I told them to). At any rate, here are some behind-the-scenes looks at the shows for you. Keep tuning … [Read more...]
FOX enters the ring on the new year schedules, and they have a few interesting items on the agenda. Check out all the info below. Launching this fall is the highly anticipated singing competition series THE X FACTOR, which marks the return of Simon Cowell to FOX. Cowell, along with Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Cheryl Cole and Paula Abdul, will judge the U.S. version of the international television … [Read more...]
At first glance, Breaking In, FOX's new comedy effort, is going to draw a lot of comparisons to Leverage, but they won't last long. The world of soundbites, trailers, and flash promos makes the comparison nearly impossible to avoid, but even the smallest amount of time spent with the actual show will put it out of your mind immediately. Sure, there's a slick, ten-moves-ahead boss running a crew … [Read more...]
Christian Slater will be taking yet another shot at television with Breaking In on FOX. The show premieres on April 6th, and I will have something more like a review shortly, because if the pilot is truly a workable representation, then I'm going to be a fan of this one. I got a chance to talk with him about the show on a Q & A Press call recently, and he was great to talk to. Hints of the … [Read more...]
That's right. The Flash Mob itself, simply as entity, now has a television show, and Howie Mandel is the host. Mobbed premieres tonight, and the show basically attacks people with Flash Mobs. People have something they want to tell people, and they've decided that the way to do it is to surprise them with hundreds of people dancing and singing. How do you turn that into a show? Well, you get … [Read more...]
This is a strange post, because it was really meant to be an interview with Emily Deschanel. After going through the transcript, and watching the episode, I really couldn't decide where to stop editing the interview in order to keep out spoilers. (It is already much later in the day by virtue of going back and forth) Ultimately, I'm just going to wait and put that up tomorrow, which doesn't do … [Read more...]
Rarely have I seen a show that seemed to have so much potential on paper, while at the same time managing to convince me that so little of that potential will ultimately be realized. The outline of Running Wilde may not exactly jump out at me - the wacky love-interest angle between the rich, spoiled son of an oil tycoon, and the (let's face it) laughably liberal girl who got away when the two … [Read more...]
If you're an App developer, you have a great opportunity here, and the $10,000 is probably the least interesting thing you win. Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) and APPNATION have partnered to launch the first-ever “Pimp My App!” contest to find the web developer who can create the most “pimped-out” app for FOX’s acclaimed hit drama FRINGE. Beginning today, FOX is offering talented … [Read more...]
American Idol has obviously become a real force to be reckoned with. Dominating the airwaves for years, and now a winter-spring transition tradition, the show has made a permanent mark on television history. Changes are a delicate matter with such behemoths though, and heaping them on top of each other is something that can topple the mightiest of giants. The latest news, Simon is officially … [Read more...]
If you happened to miss FOX's preview special of the Glee pilot episode, it isn't that surprising given the competition, but you missed a real treat. The misfit musi-comedy about high school life, and it's clubs, popularity contests, and hierarchies, is driven by a kind of creative genius rarely witnessed in the television world. I know, pretty serious stuff, isn't it? First of … [Read more...]
Mid-season efforts are tricky at the best of times, and as I recently commented this leads to a downward spiral of the audience's ability to invest in these shows. When competition shows, like The Chopping Block, are getting taken off the air after only a couple of episodes, we know something is going wrong. How can people be expected to tune in for these mid-season runs, when they … [Read more...]
I hate to be in the position of recommending shows people are actually watching. My lot, as I see it, is more along the lines of recommending things no one knows about, and trashing anything with high ratings. But, the season premiere of Kitchen Nightmares (which, to be fair, was a revisit episode) didn’t do as well as last season. Now, it still had over 5 million viewers, but that puts it … [Read more...]
